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(Message started by: SpeedPhreak on Feb 27th, 2006, 1:26pm)

Title: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by SpeedPhreak on Feb 27th, 2006, 1:26pm
I get these major headaches behing my left eye.  I've had them off & on for as long as I can remember.  The first time i remember having a headache like that I was in junior high.. but i dont remember them being frequent.  I am 30 now.

I always thought they were sinus headaches & more recently maybe migraines.  Mostly because of the sinus type pressure, my dad has horrible sinus problems, & I get really backed up in my sinuses when it happens.  I've even blamed them on caffiene.. but I am usually not a big caffiene user & I haven't had any for 3 or 4 days (yes I am having a headache as I type this.. w/1 eye open).

Sometimes I am sensitive to light.  Sometimes acidic foods taste bad.  

I never bothered to record the frequency/timing of them.. but seem to get sick twice a year like clock work.. during the season changes OR summer & winter.  I always thought that was living in colorado where it will snow in july & be 70 in Feb.

I dont notice how long they last.. again i never thought to document it.  i would guess a few hours at the most & they do seem to end abruptly.

The biggest reason I think I may have them... i ALWAYS close my left eye when I have them.

The biggest reasons I may not have them.. the pain doesnt ever reach 10... but then again.. my 10 is different than others.  I have a high tollerence for pain.. I broke my femur, hands, feet, ribs, & nose & everytime I've been to the hospital I've never rated my pain a 10. (I used to road race motorcycles, kick box, & I own a martial arts school).  Also I don't seem to get them everyday... but since i havent documented I cant say for sure how often.

I generally dont go to the doctor regardless of the illness i have & never even mentioned these to my doctor.

thanks for reading... what do you think?

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by nani on Feb 27th, 2006, 1:37pm
Hi SpeedPhreak,
Welcome and sorry you had to find us. Over on the left, there is a link to the cluster quiz. Take it and see where you fall. Not everyone is exactly the same though, so it's just a start.
I would definitely mention this to your dr. These are treatable. Start keeping a headache diary, too. It will help you get the correct diagnosis. I spent years being treated for sinus problems and migraines.  :-/
Keep us posted, OK? pain free wishes, nani

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by marlinsfan on Feb 27th, 2006, 1:43pm
Hey speed, Nani is right. Check otu the link.

I don't think you don't have to have had a 10 to have our problem. I haven't felt like suicidal for about 10 yrs, yet I still get the headaches.

Do you get them while you sleep? Are they always on the same side? Many of these questionsa re on the left link: cluster quiz.

PF wishes.


Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by Richr8 on Feb 27th, 2006, 2:01pm

on 02/27/06 at 13:26:19, SpeedPhreak wrote:
seem to get sick twice a year like clock work.. during the season changes OR summer & winter.  
What do you mean by sick? CH is more like an attack, not an illness.  I dont notice how long they last.. again i never thought to document it.  i would guess a few hours at the most & they do seem to end abruptly.

The biggest reason I think I may have them... i ALWAYS close my left eye when I have them. One of many indicators.  Have you taken the cluster quiz on the right panel

The biggest reasons I may not have them.. the pain doesnt ever reach 10... but then again.. Not sure if this is a disqualifer. You may be blessed.  my 10 is different than others.  I have a high tollerence for pain.. I broke my femur, hands, feet, ribs, & nose & everytime I've been to the hospital I've never rated my pain a 10. Ditto, ditto, ditto, + been stabbed,crushed, and fell off of a two story building.  No comparo to a Kip-10(


I hope you don't have CH, but running through quiz should help you to make that dertmination. If you pass the test, it's time to get engaged with a good neuro and get on the right track for treatment.  

Rich  

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by SpeedPhreak on Feb 27th, 2006, 2:22pm
sorry - i should have mentioned that i did take the quiz... in the 1st part i answered 1 yes.. the second part i answered 6 o r 7 yes (didnt write it down).

most of the time they are in the morning.  I have on occasion been awaken by them.. but its usually around the same time i need to get up... this happens more often if i drank the night before... with as little as 1 drink... but other times i can be way drunk & wake up feeling like a million bucks.

i say "sick" because it seems to be a range of symptoms.. which seem mostly sinus related.. ive been thinking i get a sinus infection twice a year & the headaches are part of it.

I dont ever remember having one on the right side.. not to say it hasnt happened.. but they seem to only happen on the left.

i just took a blazing hot bath/shower ( i lay in the tub while the shower runs) & it helps.. but ive also had it for about 3hrs now.. so it could have just run its course.  i also remember once prepping my bike for a race & after we were done i took it to the car wash.. i had been suffering most of the AFTERNOON & when i was washing the bike let the mist hit me & the coolness seemed to cure me.  so i cant say for sure what, if anything helps.

its interesting that oxy helps.. ive been toying w/the idea for a long time to build a hyperbaric chamber & experiment with it.. although the purpose was athletic.  while looking into that i came across h2o2 therapy & ordered some foodgrade peroxide that will be here... but this was more to help w/my current "sinus infection".

i dont usually go to the doctor because i dont believe in taking synthetic drugs when ever possible.  i have never done an illegal drug & believe that most, if not all illness is environmental or caused by man made factors (polution).. & therefore should be treatable by some sort of natural process.  not to say im a gung hoe natural medicine geek.. i love my high horsepower machines & no amount of natural remedies would have saved my life when i broke my femur.. that was 100% western science/medicine.  so i would like to stick to the natural cure if possible... & if it turns out i am a CH sufferer then o2 is the 1st place i will look.

sorry for writing novels here too.

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by Richr8 on Feb 27th, 2006, 6:39pm

on 02/27/06 at 14:22:53, SpeedPhreak wrote:
sorry - i should have mentioned that i did take the quiz... in the 1st part i answered 1 yes.. the second part i answered 6 o r 7 yes (didnt write it down).  It looks like you passed the test

I have on occasion been awaken by them.. but its usually around the same time i need to get up... Must be nice.  Consider yourself lucky.  Mine like to happen right after I've fallen asleep.

this happens more often if i drank the night before... with as little as 1 drink... but other times i can be way drunk & wake up feeling like a million bucks. Lucky again. Many of us can not drink at all in cycle or risk producing an attack on the spot

& therefore should be treatable by some sort of natural process.  There are several alternative approaches that are pursued with varying levels of succes by CH members.  Do a search for alternative therapies involving Kudzuu, clusterbusters, cholonics, etc.then o2 is the 1st place i will look.  

Many CH sufferers have excellent results with O2


Read all you can and you will be able to taylor a regimen suitable to you needs.  Again, sorry you had to find this place, but there is no place better to be if you have CH.


Rich

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by thebbz on Feb 27th, 2006, 9:12pm
Mr. phreak
Get to a neurologist. If you do have CH it will be a matter of time before you will need one. When I was younger I could handle them better than now. This may be the start or something else. Only a neurologist with CH expierence can diagnose. You have enough to consider going for a diagnosis.
All the best
jb [smiley=twocents.gif]

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by burnt-toast on Feb 28th, 2006, 5:41am
Get into the habit of keeping a headache journal and get to a Neurologist (preferrably one who specilizes in the treatment of headaches).  There are a variety of headache types and testing will rule out conditions caused by physical problems and begin to narrow down the possible causes/types that you may be suffering from.

Not reaching a KIP10 doesn't mean you don't suffer from clusters.  Some of your symptoms fit some don't but you will need a professional diagnosis to make sure you are on the right track.

Good luck on your journey, and let us know how things are going.

Tom    

Title: Re: New Guy - What do you think?
Post by Dragnlance on Feb 28th, 2006, 10:02am
Welcome SPeed

Be aware that it is possible to have several kinds of headaches going at the same time. Document all the symptoms. Some times you may notice that the pain is different, or starts in a different place or has different ways of starting.
As has been suggested, a headache log will help sort this out.

Welcome abord, and pain free wishes

Dragnlance



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